Automatic Governors
'Automatic' engines, and in turn high-speed engines, operated at increasing speeds and required more precise control of their speed under varying load. This required the coupling of their governor to the expansion valve gear. Earlier engines with Watt's centrifugal governor and throttle valve become inefficient when operating at low power.
The Richardson governor was used for stationary and portable engines produced by his employers, Robey & Co.. This is a simple link valve gear controlled automatically by a centrifugal governor. Rather than the Stephenson's manual control of the die-block position within the oscillating link, the Richardson governor adjusts this according to engine speed. It usually operated similarly to a Meyer valve, with two valves driven by two eccentrics and the Richardson governor used instead of the Meyer's manual handwheel. This avoided the wire-drawing problem of the Stephenson's reduced valve travel and improved efficiency for stationary engines that might run at low power for long periods.
Read more about this topic: Expansion Valve (steam Engine)
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